MyFPL is a series where I will go through my thought process before every FPL Gameweek in the 2017/2018 season.
Current Overall Points: 1,860
Current Overall Ranking: 22,301?
Last Gameweek Points: 101
Gameweek 31 was a rousing success, as Mohamed Salah once again proved to be the main man and good planning made sure I had a full starting XI in a Gameweek some people had to use “Free Hit” to even field a decent team.
As I emphasized in last week’s article, and talked about a month ago, you’d be better off waiting to use your “Free Hit” chip for Gameweek 35, which comes between two double Gameweeks and also features less teams to choose from. This will be especially vital for those who still have a Wildcard left, who can plan for both double Gameweeks, while still fielding the strongest possible XI in Gameweek 35.
I have already activated my wildcard, as I had a lot of players I only needed for Gameweek 31 in my team. I needed a makeover right away. If you can field a strong team for this upcoming Gameweek, you might want to wait a week and get a better picture of who you’d want for the double Gameweeks. I’ll still make the case for why you should wildcard immediately by showing you my personal wildcard team:
Nailed: De Gea/Ryan | Alonso/Morgan/Femenia/Lowton | Salah/Mahrez | Lukaku/Aubameyang
Unsure: Bailly (Christensen), Son (Willian), Ramsey (Groß), King (Gudmundsson), Murray (J. Ayew)
Tentatively, this is my plan all the way to the end of the season:
I prefer Ramsey at home to Stoke over Willian away against Spurs, but their performances in those games will decide what I do next. If Willian blanks and gets subbed off, he’s not a sure starter going forward. But it might as well be Ramsey who is eased in while Willian grabs a goal or assist vs Spurs.
I’d love the flexibility of having 2 transfers available for GW34 however. I’ll use those transfers to make sure I have the highest amount of double Gameweek players possible, but I’m banking hard on Aubameyang being a difference maker until then.
He better be, cause I let go of Firmino to get him. It might prove to bite me in the ass, especially because with a cheaper Firmino, there was a way for me to have a Lukaku-Firmino-Vardy trio up front.
Key Issues:
3rd Striker:
I’m really not satisfied with Murray as my third striker option at the moment, but he might be the best cheap forward left. His upcoming fixtures against Leicester and Huddersfield at home do look tasty, but I’m not sure he’s fit to play 2 quick games in GW34. Especially with Ulloa showing up in the Cup and big money signing Locadia looking lively. The other cheap striker options have flaws as well.
J. Ayew is my current favorite. Sure he is still suspended, but my team is strong enough to play without him in GW32 and GW33. When he returns at home in GW34 against a leaky Everton defence, he will surely start, which boosts his stock despite only having a single Gameweek. His matches post GW34 are also better than Murray’s, by far, which is why I plan to swap in GW37.
Austin from Southampton is an even bigger punt. He is about to return from injury, at least in time for Gameweek 34. He actually has a double Gameweek in 34 as well, albeit against Chelsea and Leicester. He too has good fixtures after GW34.
Barnes has scored in three straight matches, but like… it’s Ashley Barnes. I don’t see the upside, regardless of double fixtures.
Freeing up enough cash to get Vardy as the 3rd striker is also an option. However, I need to find a way to save cash for Harry Kane too. Right now, that plan is going from Aubameyang to Vardy.
Kane will be back at some point and what looked like a difficult triple captain choice a month ago, seems fairly easy now. Kane in GW37 against West Brom away and Newcastle at home. You need to make sure you have money to upgrade to Kane.
Mid-price/Cheap Midfielders:
If I do go from Murray to Ayew, I’ll have enough to upgrade from King to Gudmundsson. I think King for 4.2 is good value, but Gudmundsson has a lot higher upside leading up to Gameweek 34. 0.9 saved can be spent elsewhere though.
One of the ways I could free up cash for Vardy is by selling Son to get GroBS, who looks like a much better option than Murray anyway.
I also thought about Kenedy, who looked like a threat the last time he played. He does have a single gameweek against Arsenal in GW34 though. That probably still gives him a better chance to get points than King for Swansea against Everton.
Bailly or Christensen:
The Case for Bailly: Nailed, more clean sheets per game, safe
The Case for Christensen: Cheaper, more bonus potential
I don’t trust Smalling being nailed if Jones can get through his injury issues. Bailly is the safest bet in my eyes, he’s a Mourinho favorite. He does cost more 0.7 more than Christensen though, who was a cheap way into the Chelsea defence at one point in the season.
If Christensen can stay fit, something he has struggled with, it’s likely he’ll start most games. It is worrying that he has been subbed off right before 60 minutes in many of them this season. When he does play the full 90 minutes, he has a greater chance of bonus points than Bailly.
Unless I find a way where I really need the money, I’m probably sticking with Bailly. I need some safe options when I have a plan for the rest of the season. I really like the look of my GW37 team, with a chance to add the Best Player Available for either Mahrez or Vardy in the final gameweek of the season.